Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta
Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta- made with just 10 ingredients in less than 30 minutes, this recipe will make pasta night a breeze! (vegan + gluten-free)
Do you have pasta night in your house? We usually make it once per week and it’s probably one of my favorite meals. Yes, because carbs, obviously. But also because it’s so darn simple. Boil the pasta, cook the sauce, BOOM…dinner is served.
This creamy tomato spinach pasta has been one of our go-to meals lately because it sneaks in some green which I find can be hard to get in on a daily basis. All you have to do is dump a bag of prewashed baby spinach into the skillet and you’re good to go.
Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta Ingredients
- Onion and Garlic– As an good base should start with, garlic and onion are key players for adding flavor to this dish.
- Crushed Tomatoes– Our tomato sauce is made from using crushed tomatoes (Jovial is my favorite brand) for a little bit of texture.
- Oregano and Basil– I always make sure to have dried seasonings on hand and these two work perfect in this pasta. That said, feel free to switch it up if you prefer different herbs.
- Baby Spinach– As I said before, using prewashed baby spinach keeps this recipe super speedy.
- Penne Pasta– Any variety of pasta will work fine here. I like Trader Joe’s red lentil penne for a nice dose of protein and iron.
- Dairy-free Cream Cheese– Whether you use dairy-free or regular cream cheese is totally up to you but I like to keep it vegan by using Kite Hill’s plain cream cheese. It’s the best!
How to Make Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta
- Cook pasta as directed. Strain and set aside.
- Sauté garlic and onion then add the spinach and cook until wilted.
- Pour in the crushed tomatoes and the seasonings. Bring to a low simmer.
- Stir in the cream cheese until melted and smooth.
- Add the cooked pasta and stir to combine. Serve warm and enjoy!
This recipe is really so simple to make and the creamy tomato sauce is absolutely delicious. I hope it finds it’s way into your weekly meal rotation soon!
Looking for more easy pasta ideas?
- Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Creamy Marinara
- Tomato Corn Orzo with White Wine Butter Sauce
- Ratatouille Pasta Sauce
- 30-Minute Creamy Red Pepper Pasta
- Creamy Cauliflower Hemp Alfredo
Creamy Tomato Spinach Pasta
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 30 ounces crushed tomatoes
- 8 ounces plain dairy-free cream cheese, Kite Hill is my favorite
- 2 teaspoons dried basil
- 2 teaspoons dried oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon salt & pepper
- 8 ounces baby spinach
- 16 ounces penne pasta, or pasta of choice
- fresh basil and vegan cashew parmesan for garnish, optional
Instructions
- Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta as directed. Strain and set aside.
- In a large skillet, warm the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic then cook for about 3 minutes, until onion is translucent. Then add the spinach and cook until wilted.
- To the skillet, add the crushed tomatoes and seasoning (oregano, basil, salt & pepper). Reduce heat to a simmer. Add the cream cheese and stir until melted and evenly combined.
- Strain the pasta, add it back to the pot then pour the sauce over top. Stir until evenly coated. Serve warm with cashew parmesan and fresh basil (optional), and enjoy!
Looks so good and easy! I’ll try it out but might use some coconut milk instead of the vegan cream cheese though that sounds pretty delicious, too. Camryn loves pasta night but I usually only do it once a month. I should do it at least once every other week. ;)
I personally would be hesitant to use coconut milk but I know you’re a whiz in the kitchen so you can experiment for the both us, lol! Also, I’m not sure if you shop at Whole Foods or Trader Joes but they both have great grain-free pasta options. The red lentil penne from TJ’s is delicious!
Agreed about Pasta, Sarah… and this dish looks just fabulous! Easy peasy too with a salad and a bottle of red (I’ll save one for you, after baby is born :D ) There are endless ways with pasta and I looove it!
Always with a salad and wine! I miss wine so much, lol.
Oh, this looks so good and yummy! Definitely going to make this soon!
Thanks mama! xoxo
Agreed, pasta night is always a favorite in my household! And definitely a go-to because it’s usually easy to whip up and always delicious. I love sneaking in veggies like spinach as y0u did here as well!
Bring on the pasta! :)
Do you think the sauce would freezer well?
I know that real cream cheese separates when it’s frozen but I’ve never tried it with dairy-free cream cheese. Let us know if you decide to give it a try!
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Amazing! I don’t really like tomatoes so I used tomato sauce instead of crushed to avoid the chunks. And added chicken and chopped bell peppers. I was so yummy!
When it’s 6:30 and the entire family is SO HUNGRY, you search online and find this gem of a recipe. We found some cans of tomato something in our pantry and voila’ – delicious dinner. Now, what to make tomorrow night?
I made this pasta for my mom and sister and they loved it. The sauce is so good and it goes perfect with spinach. The only thing they said was maybe more spinach. This pasta was really good though and they all loved it.
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Late on a Halloween night and needed something to eat and this was PERFECT. So so creamy and delicious – not to mention simple!!! Substituted sour cream for cream cheese as didn’t have any on hand and turned out so well!
Wow, this was Delicious as our last minute dinner last night! I had some Italian sausage and added it grilled to it at the end & I used the Daiya vegan cream cheese because that’s what I had at home. Everyone LOVED this, even my picky Italian husband! I saved it, I will definitely do it again (probably do 1 1/2 recipe next time to have some leftovers since there was nothing left, my kids even used some bread to get every bit of the sauce at the end). Thank you!
Delicious! We have pasta at least once a week but I have never added cream cheese to the sauce and omg it was sooo good! I happened to have some (not the full 8oz) Kite Hill on hand and it was still sooo perfect and creamy! Also, use Banza pasta to get that protein in;) Great recipe!
I doubled the garlic, halved the cream cheese, and used organic diced fire roasted tomatoes. Best pasta sauce I’ve ever had! Thanks, Sarah!
Making this tonight! Can’t wait to try it- do you think adding meatballs on the side for my son would suit the creamy sauce?
This sounded delicious so I made it tonight. We are not vegan so I used regular cream cheese and I also added some ground sweet Italian sausage to it. It was delicious, my family really liked it. This dish will definitely be added to my rotation.
Delicious! Tweaked the recipe a bit. Used crushed tomatoes, decreased oregano and basil to 1 tsp each, added 8 oz of cream cheese and about 1/8 cup of parmesan. Yummy. So easy!
I wasn’t expecting this to taste this good! I’ve been trying to transition to vegetarian and wow. Never used cream cheese except on a bagel lol. Will definitely make this again.
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